The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has instructed the creators of the upcoming Malayalam film, Oru Bharatha Sarkar Ulpannam, to eliminate the term ‘Bharatha’ from the title to secure release approval.
The film, helmed by first-time director T.V. Renjith and featuring Subish Sudhi, Gouri G. Kishan, and Aju Varghese, was initially scheduled for release on March 1, 2024. However, it was subsequently postponed to March 8. Mr. Sudhi stated that the CBFC officials had no objections to the film’s content, which received a clean ‘U’ certificate, but insisted on a title change. The issue was solely with the title. The officials did not provide any explanation for their decision, Mr. Sudhi explained.
Although the producers have the option to appeal against the decision or seek legal recourse, they have decided to launch the movie under the revised title of Oru Sarkar Ulpannam to avoid potential financial losses due to delay.
Original Title Removed in Trailer
E. Satheesh, the managing director of Content Factory, stated that the CBFC had previously approved the film’s trailer with the original title, which was also screened in theaters. Now, they have requested us to withdraw the trailer from cinemas as well. The demand for a title change comes at a time when we have already printed 30,000 posters with the old title. We plan to place black stickers over the word and use the posters as a form of protest. The film does not contain any criticism against any government. In fact, it presents the National Population Control Mission’s program in a positive light. We repeatedly appealed to the regional committee (of CBFC) to reconsider their decision. However, despite multiple meetings to discuss the issue, they maintained their initial stance,” Mr. Satheesh said.
